


Ten Years

by agrajag



Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Bilingual Character(s), Established Relationship, Implied Sexual Content, Jewish Character, M/M, Pacific Rim Spoilers, Travel, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-27
Updated: 2018-03-27
Packaged: 2019-04-08 16:14:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14109183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agrajag/pseuds/agrajag
Summary: "Well, uh, I'm sure you'll want to head back to home," Newt said after some time, but at least he was able to meet Hermann's gaze. That was a good sign. "And I've got... well, I don'thaveanything back in America, but I guess I should go back home, you know?"Surprisingly, Newt's excuse gave Hermann the encouragement he needed. He could tell that Newt was unsure of where they stood as well."I quite like America. Parts of it, I mean. It is a big country, and while I lived there for some time, I didn't see all of it. We could fix that. If... If you'd like."Newt laughed. "Yeah, I mean, I do love a good road trip. Where would you like to go?"What could have happened in those ten years if things had turned out for the better.





	Ten Years

Hermann watched quietly from the doorway as Newt furiously packed up his personal supplies on his side of the lab. Granted, yes, two days before they had closed the breach and saved the world. Technically, yes, that meant their research would no longer be necessary. Hermann was surprised to see Newt ready to move on so quickly when studying the kaiju had been his life. _Was_ his life. There was still so much they didn't know, and Hermann had assumed that he and Newt would stay on to continue their work. It wasn't as if the entire Shatterdome was going to close down immediately. He was sure the jaeger pilots would stay on as well. There could always be complications, though, God, he hoped that it was done for good.

Hermann was pulled from his thoughts by a loud crash followed by Newt shouting a string of curses. Hermann looked over and tried not to smile as he watched Newt jump around on one foot while clutching the other in his hands. His ancient CD player lay in several pieces on the floor. He must have knocked it over onto his foot while throwing things in the too-small suitcase he had.

"You really ought to be more careful, Newton," Hermann said, causing Newt to curse some more.

"Jesus, Hermann, don't sneak up on people like that," he said, wagging his finger. "When, uh, when did you come in?"

"Well, long enough to see your dancing." Newt started to splutter, but Hermann continued on. "I am terribly sorry about your CD player."

"No, you're not. You never liked my loud music," Newt pointed out, but he _was_ smiling.

They had always been good at picking on each other.

Hermann pretended to think for a moment before he replied. "I suppose that's right, but I think I'll quite miss it now that the player is broken. I'll have to buy you a new one."

Newt started nervously running his hand through his hair. He seemed to be unable to look at Hermann, his eyes darting around the lab.

"Aw, dude, that's nice of you to offer, but you don't have to do that. I mean, it's been great, saving the world with you and all, but the world _is_ saved so it's not like we're going to be working together anymore."

"You do realize that we aren't out of a job because of that?" Hermann asked. "And even if we were, that doesn't mean we have to... go separate ways?"

Hermann hadn't meant it to come out as a question. They had been in each other's minds, after all, and he had seen himself through Newt's eyes. He had felt the affection, and he knew Newt had seen the way he looked at him in return. Yet, for two days, neither of them had mentioned it, and now Hermann was questioning everything. All he had done was to offer a CD player, and yet he was panicking. Well, a CD player and perhaps living together.

He didn't want Newt to leave him. They wasted so many years. Only knowing each other through letters.

Hundreds of letters, sure. And they may have not gotten along at first once they finally met in person. But they had made it here, no matter what the journey was like, and Hermann would do anything to not let it go.

"Well, uh, I'm sure you'll want to head back to home," Newt said after some time, but at least he was able to meet Hermann's gaze. That was a good sign. "And I've got... well, I don't _have_ anything back in America, but I guess I should go back, you know?"

Surprisingly, Newt's excuse gave Hermann the encouragement he needed. He could tell that Newt was unsure of where they stood as well.

"I quite like America. Parts of it, I mean. It is a big country, and while I lived there for some time, I didn't see all of it. We could fix that. If... If you'd like."

Newt laughed. "Yeah, I mean, I do love a good road trip. Where would you like to go?"

"Hollywood?" Hermann suggested. He slowly made his way into the lab, stepping up to Newt, and pulled him in closely.

"Hollywood?" Newt asked and snorted. "I never would have guessed that'd be your first choice."

"Well, I have to admit that I picked it with my rock star in mind."

Newt started spluttering again and Hermann had the brilliant idea to quiet him with a kiss.

It worked like a charm, and Hermann quite enjoyed it as well, so he was definitely going to use that in the future.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Hermann had predicted, the Shatterdome was not closing, and they were offered positions there to continue their research. He and Newt had accepted after negotiating a much needed holiday first. They spent about another week before they were able to fly to America. Between briefings with every government possible and interviews with every journalistic outlet possible, they had their hands full. Once everything started to die down, they booked their tickets and left China before someone found some reason to keep them any longer.

They started with Hollywood, well Los Angeles, despite Newt's protesting.

"You're not going to actually like it," he had said.

"Even if I'm not the biggest fan of cinema, I'm sure the history of the city is still fascinating."

They took tours of the movie lots and went to several museums, including the Death Museum upon Newt's insistence. Hermann was shocked that Newt didn't find most of intriguing. He walked through looking quite bored. That is until they made it to the kaiju exhibit which he naturally insisted Hermann take a picture of him standing next to the kaiju skull they had.

Newt had bought the camera at the Beijing Capitol International Airport before they had boarded their plane. He said they had to document their adventure and before Hermann knew it, there was dozens of pictures on the camera. Any time Newt thought Hermann did something "cute" he'd snap a photo.

Hermann sleeping in the uncomfortable airport chairs. Hermann on the double decker tour bus. Hermann next to the Creature from the Black Lagoon in the Wax Museum.

Hermann told Newt repeatedly that he was _not_ "cute" but that didn't stop him.

As Hermann took the picture of Newt, he realized it was the first one of Newt since they had gotten the camera. As they wandered around a quieter part of the city looking for a good place to have dinner, Hermann stopped another tourist and asked if she could take a picture of him and his partner. Newt had the dopiest grin on his face when Hermann walked back over to him. He immediately wrapped his arm around Hermann's waist and rested his head on Hermann's shoulder as their fellow tourist took the picture.

"What's gotten into you?" Hermann asked as they made their way into the restaurant they had finally decided on.

"You asked someone to take our picture," Newt said. He still looked as if he was miles away. "You hate talking to people. And you called me your partner. You hate being sentimental."

Hermann laughed softly.

"Calling you my partner isn't exactly sentimental. When I said I'm not a fan of public displays of affection, I meant I would appreciate it if you don't, how did you put it once, "plant one on me" while we were out and about. And as to your other point, of course I did. You _are_ my partner."

"Now I _wanna_ plant one on you," Newt complained. It was his turn to laugh, then, when he saw Hermann's reaction. "Don't worry, babe, I'm not gonna do that."

The hostess called "Gottlieb" and Hermann waited until they were seated and she had left before he poked Newt's leg with his cane.

"I think I liked it better when you called me..." He took a deep breath. He was sure he had never had to utter the word before in his life. "...dude."

"Oh, Hermann," Newt sighed, as he clutched his heart. "You're so sexy when you speak surfer."

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They went to Seattle next. That one had been Newt's suggestion.

"If you really wanna take your rock star somewhere," he had said, "you gotta take him to Seattle. Some of the best rock bands came from there."

As soon as they drove into the city in their rented car, it was raining. It was raining as they checked into their motel. It was raining as they made their way to the Space Needle. It was raining as they ran to the bagel shop where they decided to have lunch.

"I rather think I don't like it here," Hermann muttered under his breath.

Newt reached across the table and took Hermann's hand in his.

"Aw, honey, is the rain affecting your leg?"

Hermann hoped he wasn't blushing. He had known for awhile that Newt paid attention to how his leg was feeling, but it was something else to have him voicing his concern. Out loud. Holding Hermann's hand.

"I think I like honey better than babe," he said in lieu of answering.

"We could head back to the motel and take it easy until tomorrow, if you'd like."

"I _do_ appreciate that, but we still have the Boeing Factory tour to do today."

"Hermann, we're two of the brightest minds in the world. I think we can skip the tour that shows us how airplanes are made."

"It could still be interesting," Hermann insisted, but he knew he was going to lose this one.

Once they had finished their bagels and coffee, Newt held out his hands for the keys, and next thing Hermann knew, they were back at the motel. They had simply unpacked what they immediately needed when they first checked in, so Newt got to work putting their clothes into the dresser once he made sure Hermann was relaxing on the bed.

"I could help with that, you know."

"Honey, I know," Newt said and Hermann believed him. "I just wanna do it. You know I've always got all this access energy."

"There's other ways... to, uh..." Hermann coughed nervously. "I could help you work it off."

The sweater Newt had been re-folding fell from his hands, and if Hermann wasn't determined to see this through, he would have chided him. God knows how dirty the floor was. Thankfully Newt did stop to pick it up first before he was bouncing onto the bed next to Hermann and pulling him down into a kiss. Hermann reached up and, with shaky hands, unbuttoned Newt's shirt. It was quickly tossed to the side followed by Hermann's sweater and shirt and lastly their pants. All pain in his leg forgotten, Hermann situated himself so he was leaning over Newt. He pressed gently on Newt's chest until he leaned back against the pillows. Newt smiled up at Hermann as he kissed his way down Newt's chest to the waistband of his boxers.

Some time later, once they were cleaned up and comfortably under the covers, Newt started laughing.

"And what's so funny, then?" Hermann asked.

"No, God no," Newt said quickly. "I'm not laughing at anything that just happened. Never, babe. It was amazing. It's like... 'I can't believe how amazing it was' laughter. 'I can't believe we waited this long to do that' laughter."

"I must agree with both of those points," Hermann said as he pulled Newt closer so his head was resting on his chest. "I do believe we're going to be defiling much more motel rooms on our trip."

Newt started laughing again, and it reverberated in Hermann's chest, so naturally he had to laugh with him.

By the morning the rain had stopped, and they made it to the Boeing Factory as well as Pike Place. They even took turns taking pictures of the other.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Unfortunately, after visiting some "important grunge hot spots" as Newt had put it, and aimlessly driving around some quaint Washington towns, they had to return to the Shatterdome to begin training the new recruits. Hermann knew that some changes must have been made since he and Newt had gone on holiday, but he hadn't expected to walk into the lab and barely recognize it. It had always been dark and dingy, even when Hermann first started there when the wall was barely an idea in some politicians head. He was almost blinded by how bright it was when he opened the door their first day back. He even fell back slightly and bumped into Newt. Luckily Newt was kind enough to catch him and right him up discreetly.

"Thank you, Newton," he said quietly, for he realized they weren't alone.

The new recruits were already in the lab, seated at what had once been Newt's "operating table" of sorts. They were chatting amongst themselves but had gone silent when they had heard the door open. Hermann suddenly felt as if he was back in university and was late for the first day of lectures. It was ridiculous, but he felt nervous.

"Oh wow," Newt said, or rather shouted, before stepping around Hermann. "One, two, three, _four_! Four scientists. Jesus, Herms, could you imagine what we would've gotten done if we had all this help when it mattered?"

The new recruits were staring at Newt as if he had two heads and one had burst out into a terrible rendition of their favorite song.

"Don't mind Dr. Geiszler, everyone," Hermann said. Having Newt, well, being Newt had helped him regain his composure. "You will soon become accustomed to it."

"I should admit, we were actually warned about that," one of the recruits said, "from General Mori."

"General?" Newt asked. "That's fantastic for Mako. Wow, I wondered how much else has happened since we were gone. But..." He clapped his hands and the recruits jumped in their seats. "That's for another time. Let's do introductions. Now, Hermann called me Dr. Geiszler, but no one calls me that. Please, just call me Newt. Hermann on the other hand will be grumpy all day if you don't call him Dr. Gottlieb."

"That's not true. Please, just call me Hermann. We're all of the same rank, here. We're only training you since we have been here longer. Now, if you wouldn't mind going around and introducing yourselves?"

"Dr. Chloe Ling," said the recruit who had been brave enough to admit that Mako told them Newt was annoying. "Biology."

"Dr. Hannah Chow. Also biology."

"Dr. Sian Sharma. Mathematics."

"Dr. Elisha Martin. I specialize in animal behavior."

"Oh fantastic," Newt said clapping his hands again. This time the recruits seemed to be expecting it. "Trying to look more into the kaiju's motivations. I like that. Well, it looks like I've got my hands full. Chloe, Hannah, and Elisha, you'll be with me. Herms, have fun with Sian, sweetheart."

Hermann led Sian over to his chalkboard. He had to admit he was relieved that it seemed whoever had cleaned the lab had left his chalkboard alone. In fact, he could still make out some of the figures he had erased the day before they had left on holiday.

"Well, Sian, there's not much to really 'train' you on when it comes to the lab procedures. I think it'd be best for us to get right to what our job is going to be. We're going to be going over my formulas for predicting kaiju appearences and seeing if we can calculate if and when kaiju, God forbid, ever reappear."

"Honestly, getting right into work sounds perfect," Sian said as he picked up a piece of chalk.

He and Hermann worked side by side for awhile in silence, Newt and the other recruits making more than enough noise behind them on the other side of the lab, before Sian looked over at Hermann nervously before speaking.

"General Mori also had told us to be wary of you and Dr. Geiszler's fighting, but, uh... You two seem to get along quite well."

"Ah yes..."

"In fact, he called you... sweetheart?"

Hermann started coughing. Sian reached over and patted him gently on the back, which didn't do much to help, but Hermann appreciated the gesture.

"Sorry. Must have breathed in some chalk dust. But, yes, Newt and I are together. Though, Mako hadn't exactly lied to you. We used to argue quite often."

"No offense, sir, but that sounds like something out of a soap opera."

"No offense taken," Hermann said with a laugh. He looked over his shoulder and watched Newt showing off what looked like a kaiju stomach. "Though I hope the rest of our relationship won't be like a soap opera."

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

At dinner, they were able to congratulate Mako in person. They walked into the canteen and saw that she was seated at a table by herself, and so they joined her.

"Dr. Geiszler. Dr. Gottlieb," she said with a smile. "How wonderful to see you two. I hope America treated you well."

"Oh, it was great," Newt said. "We only got to hit up two cities, so we'll have to continue on another time, though."

"I'm sure driving across the country all at once would have been very tiring," she pointed out.

"That's true. Plus it's nice to be back at work. What can I say? I missed this place."

Mako laughed softly.

"We missed you, too."

"It'll be awhile before we take another holiday," Hermann said. "We leave and so much changes. The lab looks fantastic, by the way, so thank you."

"Yes, well, a lot can happen in almost a month."

"Plus congratulations are in order. We heard you're general now."

"Thank you, Dr. Gottlieb."

"And what about Raleigh?" Newt asked. "I hope he got a fancy title as well."

"Actually, Raleigh retired from the PPDC. For good this time," Mako said. "He's working construction now, and he's quite happy."

"Ah, well, good for him. You guys see each other often?"

Mako looked down shyly and Newt started banging on the table.

"Mako, you dog! I want details."

Hermann reached over and rested his hand on Newt's shoulder.

"Newton, I do believe we're going to have to be a bit more formal with _General Mori_ now, don't you think?"

"Oh, sweetheart, you're no fun," Newt said with a pout.

"I suppose I can forgive that comment now that I know that you two finally stopped arguing," Mako said. She looked as if she had won the lottery. "I'd been talking to Dr. Ling earlier, and she mentioned that you two were like peas in a pod and that I frightened them for nothing. I have to admit I was curious about what had happened to change things. This makes it all the better. I believe congratulations are in order for you both as well. Zhùhè."

"Xièxiè," Newt said.

"Dr. Geiszler, I'm sorry, but your pronunciation still needs some work."

"Hey, stop laughing at me," Newt said as Hermann couldn't control himself. "I speak three and a half languages. Cut me some slack."

"Well, I must be going now," Mako said as she cleaned up her tray. "It was wonderful to catch up. I'll tell Raleigh you said hello."

Hermann and Newt said their goodbyes and finished their own dinner before heading back to the lab. It felt almost like old times without the other scientists around, if Hermann ignored how sparkling clean everything was. He knew, however, that in no time Newt would have his side of the lab covered in kaiju parts. He found that he wasn't dreading that day, although he still found it incredibly unsanitary.

"You know, I thought it'd feel suffocating coming back here," Newt said as he hopped up onto the operating table. He started swinging his legs back and forth. "But I really feel like we're still going to be doing real important work."

"Well, of course we will. There's still so much more we need to learn."

Newt started making a grabbing motions with his hands, and with a sigh that was only for show, Hermann walked over to Newt and let him pull him into a hug.

"Yeah," Newt said, his breath rustling Hermann's hair. "And I'm glad I get to do it with you, babe."

"As am I, Newton."

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Turns out that without the very real deadline of "apocalypse" looming over them, other than Newt occasionally worrying over his finite supply of kaiju parts, working at the Shatterdome was a rather enjoyable job. The new recruits, although a few years younger than them, shared several interests with both Hermann and Newt. Hannah and Elisha had the same taste in music as Newt, as well, so Hermann didn't have to worry about the loud rock going anywhere. He and Sian had made great leeway with the new formula, and Chloe had started working on cloning kaiju tissue in an effort to keep enough samples on hand for experiments. Mako proved to be exceptional in her new position, and the Shatterdome was running smoother than ever. Hermann and Newt came over to her and Raleigh's house once a month for dinner. Raleigh had discovered a love for cooking, and Hermann honestly looked forward to their dinner parties. The one thing that hadn't improved at the Shatterdome was the canteen food.

And, of course, one night after a romantic night in, Hermann told Newt he loved him in every language he knew, and, of course, Newt said it back.

Before they knew it, a year had passed, and Newt suggested they take another holiday.

"Continue where we left off," he had said.

So that's how they found themselves in Las Vegas.

Well, there was quite a lot of debate before they found themselves in Las Vegas. Hermann had pointed out that neither of them would particularly have a good time. It wasn't exactly their kind of thing, but Newt had argued that they should go at least once.

"Especially if we're touring the best of America's cities," he had said.

"I never said 'touring American's greatest cities' did I? I simply said I'd like to see more of the country."

Though Hermann knew he wasn't going to win.

So _that's_ how they found themselves in Las Vegas.

They had gone to a casino and lasted a total of an hour before they rushed back to their hotel room. Hermann would never admit it to Newt, but he may have paid for an upgraded room knowing that they would not spend much time out during the nights. Newt had had two drinks while they had played at gambling and he was practically giggling when Hermann pushed him up against the door and ran his hands up under Newt's shirt.

"Hermann... baby..." Newt muttered as Hermann pushed his shirt up over his head. "C'mon. You haven't even kissed me yet."

"We'll have time for that later. There's far too many clothes right now."

"Alright, well, then, how 'bout you go sit down over there," Newt said, motioning toward the bed, "and I'll give you a little show."

"No offense Newton, but even when you're sober, you're not the most coordinated person," Hermann said, but he did make his way over to the bed and sat down.

"Well, just you wait and see, baby."

Newt started to sway his hips, dancing to some song in his head, but he was having trouble working his pants down while dancing. He stumbled quite a bit and it took him several attempts before he got them around his ankles. That's when he noticed that he still had his combat boots on. He had to lean down and undo the laces, which took some time, and Hermann started laughing. He finally managed to get them off and quickly kicked away the pants as well before throwing his boxers at Hermann.

"Well, see if I ever give you a strip tease again," he muttered.

"I'm very sorry Newton, Please, come here."

"You're lucky I love you." Newt stalked over to the bed, all pretense of putting on a show gone, and laid down on the bed. "That's it, though. We're never doing anything fun, anymore. We're too old for that. Just plain, boring, vanilla sex from now on."

"Newton, we're not _that_ old," Hermann said. He leaned in and started kissing Newt's neck. "Though, I must admit, I've been looking forward to this since we arrived in the city, so plain sex would suit me just fine."

"But not boring?" Newt asked, a mischievous look in his eyes.

"No, not boring. Never boring with you."

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After a few days doing not much of anything in Las Vegas, they rented a car and drove out to see the Grand Canyon. It wasn't exactly a great American city, but Hermann and Newt both agreed it was something they should definitely see. Newt pulled out their old trusty camera and took far too many pictures of Hermann as he drove. Hermann kept telling him to delete them.

"I look far too angry," he had said. "Is that what I really look like when I'm concentrating."

"I think you look adorable," Newt had replied.

Hermann finally wrestled the camera from him when Newt was still trying to take pictures when it was his turn to drive. He allowed him to have it back once they made it to the Grand Canyon, of course. They asked another tourist to take their picture while they stood in front of the view and then Newt went wild taking candids of Hermann as they walked around. Then they made their way to the North Kaibab National Forest and walked around for a good part of the afternoon. Hermann had to stop a few times. Between the car ride and the walking, his leg and hip were starting to bother him. He kept telling Newt every time he sat down that it was simply a precaution, but they were partners. They had drifted and been inside each other's mind. There was no fooling Newt. The third time Hermann stopped, Newt joined him on the bench and held his hand above Hermann's hip.

"Now, sweet cheeks, I know you don't do PDA," he said, "but I could massage your hip a little bit. It might help."

Hermann sighed happily and allowed himself to rest his head on Newt's shoulder.

"It's not terribly painful. I feel like a massage in the middle of the park would be pushing my limits, but this is nice. Also, never call me sweet cheeks again."

Newt laughed and it reverberated through Hermann's head. He'd known this for awhile, but he thought about how Newt's laughter was his favorite sound in the world.

"Well, I _was_ pushing it," Newt said as he took his arm and wrapped it around Heramann's shoulders. "I'll find a pet name you like at some point."

"I've never said I disliked any of them particularly. _Until_ sweetcheeks," he added when he saw Newt open his big fat mouth to contradict him. "I may have been ranking them, yes, but that's different. I'm only trying to help you stick with one that'll offend me the least."

"Offend you the least, huh? I guess I should be thankful you're letting me cuddle you right now. Yeah, I'm thankful, so I won't experiment with pet names for the rest of the day."

"That's greatly appreciated, Newton."

After a few more minutes, Hermann felt well enough to continue on. He almost didn't want to get up but he lifted his head and told Newt. They continued on down the path and they ended up seeing a decent amount of the forest before they called it a day. There hadn't been enough money for a hotel room like in Las Vegas, so it was back to a small motel room, but Hermann didn't care as long as he was with Newt. He had showered first, so he changed into his pajamas and started reading the book he had brought with him for down time while Newt took his turn. He became so engrossed in it that he hadn't heard the shower turn off and was surprised when Newt crawled into bed next to him. His hair was dripping onto the pillow and when Hermann looked over the top of his book he noticed that Newt hadn't bothered putting clothes on.

"Oh, Newton, I'm sorry, but after the day we've had, which _was_ enjoyable, I'm rather not up for it."

"Hey, that's alright Herms. Honestly, I wasn't sure how'd you feel which is why I was going for the 'lay here in all my sexy glory' approach and if you took the bait, then cool. But I wasn't going to ask or anything. Just in case."

Hermann laughed. "Well, I quite like that approach. You'll have to try it again some other time."

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Coming back to China, well Hermann wouldn't say he felt relieved since he had enjoyed their holiday, but he was definitely elated. The little apartment they had rented together when they first got together felt like home. Over the past year and a half, they had made it their own. Between Hermann's art, such as his print of Melencolia I, and Newt's monster movie posters covering the walls and the souvenirs they had picked up from their holidays, it no longer felt cold and uninviting when Hermann walked through the door. Soon they were having Mako and Raleigh over for the monthly dinner parties and Newt started a game night with Chloe, Hannah, Sian, and Elisha. Hermann had sat out the first few times because he had never been much for games other than chess or Go, but by fourth night Newt practically begged him to join them for a game of Werewolf. Turned out Hermann was quite good at deception and won his first game. The lab was not the best place to be for a week afterward since Hermann gloated quite a bit.

Before they knew it, another year had passed. The new recruits, who honestly knew the lab better then the two of them did by then, were now in charge. After dedicating nearly a decade of their lives to the Hong Kong Shatterdome, Hermann and Newt were taking up teaching jobs at Harvard. It was difficult to say goodbye to their friends. Newt cried.

A lot.

Hermann had to admit he teared up as well.

They promised to visit as often as they could. Their holidays wouldn't be spent driving cross country, or so Hermann thought. They did have some time off before they were to start their new jobs, so Newt insisted they continue on their tour of all America had to offer.

"And what better way than to start in our new home," he had said.

Hermann was concerned about leaving the movers alone at their new house, but Newt waved it off like it was no big deal. He basically dragged Hermann along to the New England Holocaust Memorial. He took their camera out from his messenger bag but hesitated.

"I... I thought we should, you know? It's tough, though."

Hermann leaned into Newt and squeezed his hand.

"S 'iz bsdr, Newton," he whispered. "I understand."

Newt raised the camera, took a deep breath, and took the picture. He turned to the side and hugged Hermann close.

"Ikh hab dir lib," he said, his voice muffled by Hermann's sweater.

"Ikh hab dir aoykh lib."

They took a moment for themselves before they went to the Paul Revere House and then to the Union Oyster House for a well deserved meal. When they returned to their house, the movers were done, which wasn't much of a surprise since their apartment required less furniture.

"I think we're going to need some more side tables or something," Newt said as he wandered around their new house.

"It _does_ seem rather bare."

"We can find some cute, local antique shops and pick out some stuff," Newt said. He sounded farther away than before. Hermann turned around and he was nowhere to be seen. "How does that sound?"

Hermann walked into the other room and found Newt staring at a blank wall. He draped himself along Newt's back and kissed him lightly behind the ear.

"Sounds wonderful, but we can worry about that later. How about we go and break in the bed?"

Newt laughed. Well, honestly, it was more of a snort.

"That bed has been more than broken in, Herms."

"Yes, well, we haven't broken it in in the new house, now have we?"

"Can't argue with that."

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was no surprise that Newt made a fantastic teacher. Once you got used to the rambling tangents, no one could deny that he always made the material memorable. His students loved him. It only took a year before his reputation proceeded him and his classes had waiting lists longer than a mile and most of those trying to get in weren't studying biology. They just wanted to take a class taught by the infamous Dr. Newton Geiszler.

No, the surprise was that Hermann made a fantastic teacher as well. He didn't get stage fright and despite popular belief he _did_ get along well with others, but he had never thought he would be good at making the material stick. It had been a chore to simply get those at the Shatterdome to follow along with one equation. He couldn't imagine how he'd ever be able to teach a whole classroom of students an entire textbook. Yet he excelled at it. More importantly, however, he loved it. So much so that he agreed to teach summer courses as well, which led to some trouble when he remembered they were supposed to visit Mako and Raleigh in China.

"That's quite alright, Dr. Gottlieb," Mako said, when he phoned her. He started to protest, 'Honestly, please, call me Hermann' but she continued right on. "Raleigh and I both have some time off, and we were thinking it would be perfect for us to come visit there. I've never been to America before. I think it should be fun."

When Hermann told Newt, he literally started jumping around the living room. By the time Mako and Raleigh arrived, he had an entire itinerary planned for their trip.

"So, what's the plan then?" Raleigh asked.

Newt released his list and it went unrolling until it hit the ground.

"Lā shǐ," Mako muttered under her breath.

"Hey, my Mandarin is not that bad," Newt said. "I know what that means. Trust me, you guys. We're gonna have tons of fun."

The plan was to spend several days in New York City before coming back to Boston so Newt could show Mako and Raleigh around while Hermann graded his papers.

They managed to see all the important sights, Central Park, the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, and Times Square. Mako looked like a kid in a candy shop, but somehow Raleigh was even worse. The man had been inside the largest machines ever built and yet he was completely enamoured with how tall all of the buildings were. They so much shopping, Hermann wondered how Mako and Raleigh were going to be able to take everything home on the plane. They also ate their body weight in pizza. Hermann decided that he never wanted to see a pizza again for the rest of his life.

Four days passed and they made their way back to Boston. Hermann saw Mako and Raleigh in the morning and then for dinner at night. Newt took them out and showed them around Boston as well as any native. Hermann felt slightly guilty that he wasn't able to spend as much time with his friends, but as he watched Newt help Raleigh in their kitchen to make spaghetti and Mako stuff her purchases into her suitcases, he knew that he couldn't have asked for anything more. It was too soon that they were taking Mako and Raleigh to Boston Logan International Airport and saying their teery goodbyes.

"Babe, this is getting harder every time," Newt said as they made their way back home.

"What is that, Newton?"

"Saying goodbye to everyone. Every time. Our lifestyle is not so great for a extrovert like me. Like, I have friends in Germany and Alaska and China and all over America. No matter where I live, I'm going to be missing someone."

"You do have a point, dear."

Newt pulled their car over, because they actually owned a car now, and pulled Hermann into a searing kiss.

"What was that for?" Hermann asked.

"You called me dear. You've... you've never called me any pet names. It's always me calling you pet names."

Hermann blushed. "Ah, yes, I suppose I did. It must have slipped out."

"So is 'dear' your favorite then? I'll make sure to use that one the most. Oh, and don't be afraid to let it 'slip out' more often."

"Of course... dear."

Newt squealed, honestly squealed, and finally pulled back onto the road and drove them home.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

More years passed. Hermann and Newt did buy some cute antique furniture. They filled the walls with more art, posters, and pictures from their holidays framed. They adopted a rescue pit bull who Newt named Knifehead and Hermann called Messer. Newt had made friends with most of the other professors in the science department and started monthly game nights back up. The first time he teared up and told Hermann he wished their China K-science crew could be there, so Hermann surprised him by calling Chloe, Hannah, Sian, and Elisha on Skype before their other guests arrived. Hermann started taking art lessons, and even though his paintings never looked as perfect as the art he admired, he enjoyed how calm it made him.

There was also the small matter of two golden rings and two 'I do's.

They visisted the rest of the great American cities. Eventually. It took some time.

Chicago was great. Newt loved all the beer. Hermann loved the efficient transportation system.

New Olreans was beautiful. The food was to die for, and Hermann swore they couldn't move for a week after they left.

There was Miami, Nashville, Houston, Salt Lake City.

When they ran out of big cities, Hermann and Newt started taking trips driving around and exploring the rest of the country. Like Hermann had said all those years ago, it was a big country, and they had time. They had saved the world, after all. They had all the time they needed.

It was ten years before they relocated back to China.

General Mako Mori was working with Liwen Shao to build jaeger drones and they wanted Hermann and Newt's expertise. They were only happy to agree.

"God, I'm out of practice. My Mandarin is gonna be terrible," Newt said as their taxi pulled up. "Even more so than usual."

"Don't worry. I'm sure our driver will understand Shatterdome," Hermann said with a laugh. "It's the same in every language."

"No, I mean, Mako is totally gonna drag me. And there's bound to be new workers and I'm gonna have to talk to them. Oh Lord, I'm going to die."

"Oh, darling, you'll be fine."

"Darling, huh?" Newt asked with a smirk. "That's a new one."

The taxi stopped abruptly and suddenly they heard a helicopter coming in for a landing. Their driver told them they would have to get out here. Hermann thanked him, paid, and he and Newt left the car. They made their way around the crowd who had gathered around to see who was coming out of the helicopter and found Mako waiting outside the front door.

"We get a welcome commity, eh, General?" Newt asked.

"Oh, uh, my apologies Dr. Geiszler," Mako said, nervously. "I'm actually out here to welcome someone else. I don't expect you two to run off."

"Run off?" Hermann asked. He looked back to the helicopter and saw none other than Jake Pentecost walking down the plank with a young girl struggling to keep up with him. "General Mori, is there something you're not telling us?"

"Don't worry, Dr. Gottlieb. It's not as if the world is ending again, I promise you that."

"That's alright," Newt said as he slung his arm around Hermann's shoulder. "We got the dream team here. Even if something bad happens, we got this."

Hermann returned the gesture, remembering a time they held onto each other similarly, bloody but not broken, as the reality of what they had done settled. God, of course he hoped they'd never have to do that again, but he knew he'd do whatever needed to be done so he could keep Newt, his rock star, by his side.

**Author's Note:**

> after watching uprising i was like "i need to write some quick fluff for these guys they deserve it" and then this turned into something else entirely and i had no control over it what-so-ever i'm sorry
> 
> i sinned and used google translate so if anyone can help with the translations i'd appreciate it
> 
> translations  
> zhùhè - (mandarin) congratulations  
> xièxiè - (mandarin) thank you  
> s 'iz bsdr - (yiddish) it's alright  
> ikh hab dir [aoykh] lib - (yiddish) i love you [too]  
> lā shǐ - (mandarin) shit  
> messer - (german) knife


End file.
